Looking Good in Regency Dress IS Achievable!
Quit trying to talk yourself out of pursuing this beautiful era because you think you won’t look good.
Do you feel that Regency clothing looks terrible on you? Afraid to make something from the Regency era because you have a large rib cage or are well endowed on top?
Do you feel that your curvy figure doesn’t match the slim Greek aesthetic of the early 1800s?
Well, nonsense!
You CAN look good in Regency styles with a little bit of work to make the garments fit your figure in a complimentary manner.
With just a few pointers you can feel confident when wearing these ethereal fashions. Of course, it IS work and it won’t be done quickly. But take it a step at a time and you’ll be amazed at how flattering early 1800s start to look on you. It really can happen!
Rarely does a pattern fit straight out of the envelope. Anyone who sews knows you have to fiddle with it so it lays correctly over the individual figure.
But sometimes it can get confusing. You can feel lost and overwhelmed looking at such tiny Regency dress pieces and wondering how they will ever cover you properly. That was how it was for me years ago when I first started sewing Jane Austen fashions. It *looks* easy, but… not. Until I learned a few tips to make it easy.
We all want to look fabulous and be proud of our costuming. Right? Well, when you know your garment is well-fit your confidence will soar. No matter what your sewing skill YOU CAN achieve great fit!
Knowing a few tricks can help.
Like how someone with large arms can look decent in puff sleeves. It IS possible! You’ll find loads of tips on pages 10 & 11.
How about disguising a wide rib cage? Or simply, how do empire-waist gowns look flattering on anyone with wide hips & full bust?!
The biggest issue I hear with wearing Regency styles – “The dresses make you look pregnant! I’m 55 years old!”
Well of course they do… UNLESS you know the keys to solving this problem. They aren’t hard.
Let me teach you the tweaks to avoid this undesirable look.
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What some happy customers are saying:
“Will refer to this again and again. A regency sewing can’t live without.” ~Roberta H.
“I bought your Regency Fitting Tips recently and I love it! It has many great tips and I haven’t even finished reading.” ~Victoria Woten
“Very good information for many aspects of putting together a regency dress and achieving the regency silhouette.” ~Pemberley Dreams (on Etsy)
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In this valuable handbook you’ll get straight on your way to looking like you stepped out of the past.
Handbook covers:
- Practical guidelines for fashions from c.1795 to 1820
- Tips to enhance your sewing skills (pg. 4)
- Day and evening bodice fitting techniques
- The secret to a slim appearance in early 1800s clothing (pg. 3)
- Avoiding the pregnant look (pg. 5)
- Corset fitting & sewing tips for a proper Regency silhouette
- How to fit fabric to the bust, shoulders and upper chest (the biggest area with fitting issues) (pg. 6)
- How to cut sleeves to hide large upper arms (and minimize that banded-stuffed-sausage look) (pg. 10)
- Working with sleeves for both day and evening bodices
- How to avoid gaping necklines (pg. 9)
- Dealing with extra fabric around the shoulder area
- Keys to making the rib cage visually smaller (pg. 11)
- Skirts of the period – how wide; where to gather; and trains (pg. 13)
- Other general era-specific sewing information
and much more!
There’s no reason you can’t fine tune your costumes to look your best. You deserve to be confident and present a proper historical silhouette… and feel great in your costume!
You want your historical garments to look like clothing they wore 200 years ago. The secret is in the fit of the fabric to the body! I’m excited to share with you the techniques I use in my own early 1800s costuming.
Let’s work together so that not only does the costume look good, we FEEL fabulous while wearing it. And playing dress up is the best when we enjoy doing it!
Purchase of digital PDF eBook is through our Etsy Storefront.
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I struggle with Dyslexia, can you make a tutorial video on how to make a regency dress with cross over bodice.
Hi Polly,
I will certainly consider the idea. Thanks.
Also, I would encourage you to consider my online class for a Regency Dress. All my online classes have hours of video instruction as well as full PDF handouts. Even though we focus on a drop front dress style a cross over bodice can be made similarly. I’m next hosting that class in June 2016 if you’re interested.
Tracey, I bought “The Elegant Ladies Closet” pattern too… and I am also going to make the cross over bodice dress. 🙂 I am still working on my short stays and then I was going to make my petticoat so I can measure properly for the dress. 🙂
Saving up to get the spiral bound copy of this book. 🙂
Thanks Jen. I ended up buying “The elegant Ladies Closet” pattern from Sense and Sensibility because it gives you different options of sleeve length and two different bodices. I think the crossover bodice will be more flattering on my chest. I where that style a lot in real life. Thanks for the tip on the fitting book too.
Tracey
I Jen, I just bought the ebook for this. I was wondering if you have a particular pattern or patterns that you recommend for someone who has never sewn regency before. I’m also pretty seriously endowed.
Tracey
Hi Tracey,
I highly recommend the La Mode Bagatelle pattern. It’s a complete Regency wardrobe with DD patterns included. Although, it’s bit pricey but all you’d need. Otherwise I love Jennie’s patterns at Sense & Sensibility. Easy to make basic pieces. You will have to adjust for a larger bust though. My favorite book on pattern drafting to a larger bust cup is Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina.
Good luck and happy sewing!!
Jennifer
the pinching works AMAZINGLY better than you can imagine.
here you will see the Megan Cup as translated into a DD cup. The ORS post by Mrs. Johanesen is AMAZING and super helpful too and inconjunction with the dress fitting tips (which, I own of course) this is a recipe for success!
Ladies, your first task is to work on your gussets, sometimes ‘pinching’ the bottom of them will create a better ‘cup’ rather than just an angled shape, which happens a lot for some folks. Also, you might want to look into using a busk and back-closing your stays. Make sure your stays fit you properly. I posted a tip on properly fitting your stays here: Once your stays shape you properly, your gowns will follow.
I was wondering… when researching about Regency fit, everyone seems to talk about helping well-endowed women fit their regency, but no one ever seems to talk about the other end of the spectrum. I’m slender and a B-cup, and I haven’t been able to find any info anywhere about getting the proper separation and lift required for this silhouette to look right. The first corset I made did nothing but flatten. Is there any info in here that helps the smaller figure?
My first Regency also flattened me too much and I think it’s because I made the bust gussets too small as it didn’t fit me snug like the Victorian shape I was used to. This handbook, while giving tips for larger-busted women, does include a few tips for small busts and how a corset should fit no matter what bust cup size you have.
You can also do what women have done for centuries and add small pads below the bust, inside the corset, to achieve more period-looking cleavage.
Padding is very useful. At the moment I have a bust that could be anywhere between a small B and a DD cup depending on proximity to birth of my latest child (we are trying for 4 and are currently on 2) time of day. Padding is the only way of solving this particular problem.